A great ride through Conejo Valley, then add a beautiful start up the rolling hills of Malibu Canyon to Lake Malibu makes for a solid and pleasant ride for Spring and Fall.

Total Distance: 53.5 miles
Total Ascent/Climbing: 3300 feet

DOWNLOAD THE RIDE SHEET FOR THE RIDE

DOWNLOAD THE MAP MY RIDE OVERVIEW

MAP MY RIDE PAGE

Thought he was cute in Avatar (though his legs were rather scrawny)… but can’t believe this Aussie was chewin’ his cud gum during presentation time at the Academy Awards… what a stool!

Michael Steele
John Boehner
Eric Cantor

I must be from another planet… how can these people be in any position of importance. What a bunch of White Power Freaks.

Get that ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) or Stumpjumpin’ MTB out… it’s time for a drive/ride down poor dilapidated Girffith Park Boulevard. Once a beautiful drive between Sunset Boulevard to Griffith Park. 

Todays journey is between Silverado Boulevard to Tracy Street.
This is about 15% to 20% the length of GPB… with about 40+ major issues with the pavement. That could easily calculate to over 160 obstacles to maneuver when traveling the full length of this once proud drive. Perfect for military training in hostile territories!

Is it a Multi-Media Art Piece… or is it Griffith Park Boulevard? And how many folks have either tripped or stumbled (besides myself) while crossing the treacherously uneven Pavement. Nannies and Mom’s alike are unable to use strollers on either the street or sidewalk.. it’s just too rough for the strollers made in China!

Being a cyclist myself…. I have to drive my bike by car the 2 miles from my Silverlake home to Griffith Park. GPB has given me 2 flats in as many weeks riding on the BIKE LANE. BIKE LANES are generally added to add safety for a bicyclist, but not on GPB… safer riding down the middle of the street.

Perhaps cars and trucks should learn how to jump and leap over crevasses is they use GPB?

Why this contractor would leave his stamp in this sub-par patch is beyond me.

Several fellow Silverlakians have mentioned that perhaps the street is kept intentionally crappy. No need for speed bumps and keeps traffic to a minimum. Hmmm… sound like crack-pot thinking to me.

CONTACT THE FOLLOWING FOR ACTION:

BUREAU OF STREET SERVICES (BOSS)
BOSS PHONE: 1 (800) 996-2489

4TH COUNCIL DISTRICT: TOM LaBONGE
1 818 755-7630
email: patricia.malone@lacity.org 

13TH COUNCIL DISTRICT – ERIC GARCETTI
1 323 957-4500

SILVERLAKE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL

Will add more contact info with Parts 2 and 3.
 

This stairway and the stairway on Sunset Drive Stairway have always held a special place for me. After my second attempt at living in Los Angeles, I moved to a small house on Sanborn Avenue, and was introduced to the stairways of Franklin Hills. In a city where no one walked, it seemed so special and strange to have an area with a network of Stairways. I helped make a very un-human place, inviting… and I have enjoyed the stairways ever since.

A cute little stairway at the end of Hidalgo. Note, that several maps list this as being a full street connecting to Electric.

There is even a lucky resident who has access of their home from the stairway only.

Don’t tell the people who live here, but this is a freaky (but most likely pleasant) place to live. Cut off from most of Los Angeles with only a small underpass under the 2 Freeway for access, this is truly a forgotten neighborhood.

But you gotta love a neighborhood that has the most jumbo Log Cabins in the world…

The things crazed old men do. When I stumbled past this little walkway, I really didn’t want to go down the path. It looked very long from my maps, and just how pleasant is a walk along side a freeway. Plus, not knowing what is at the end, I worried a bit about suddenly being in the middle HoboTown or a gang initiation ceremony. And the signs warning about the Coyote Packs and not feeding them left me a little iffy. But I texted the husband and let him know where I was in case I am never seen again or left half eaten below an overpass…

But I survived the walk, and it was much shorter than I though it would be and it opens up to an Urban L.A. Version of the Land That Time Forgot.

I was planning on turning back right away, but there was this guy with a Squirt entering the path, and being a not-so-friendly kinda person myself, thought best to let him go ahead. So I stayed here a bit and explored and rather happy I did. Don’t tell these folks, but this is a freaky little neighborhood. But found a stairway further down at Corralitas Drive, a strange street and Stairway.

Truly a lovely street, but the Stairway has been closed to the public, probably due to gang violence. Hopefully the “upgrading” to the area may allow this stairway to be opened again sometday in the future.

I don’t know why this walkway is a double walkway… lord knows, few enough folks use this, at least when I was there.

The center meridian would be perfect for a park.. just add a little water.

Oh, please note that this Stairway is from Top to Bottom, though I usually try to show the photos from bottom to top. FYI: I did go up and down this Stairway 3 times, so the construction crew was having a good laugh on the old white guy.

Yup, the folks of Los Feliz know how to take care of their stairways… on the section at the base is a special mural constructed just for the neighborhood.

Oh, and while you are tromping around the area… take 10 minutes out and walk over to the Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House. In real life, the power of this place is so much more impressive than any photos or films you may have seen. More than worth the additional effort.

View the Ennis House at WikiMapia

And those Los Felizeans like their Stairways clean and tidy too! (unlike those messy Silverlakens)… When we arrived was the same day that the Cleaning crew arrived as well.

Ahhh… but the view here at the top is so wonderful. Downtown and Griffith Park Observatory viests from around here… well worth the trouble getting up here.

Venturing from Silverlake to Los Feliz was quite easy and close… but didn’t realize just what a slum Silverlake is compared to this area of Los Feliz. But it is quite nice to find that they appreciate their Stairways to a degree that I wish would be adopted by my own neighborhood.

And those Los Felizeans appear to be quite pampered as well with Rest Areas in the middle of their Stairways and at the top too!

For me, a sweet little stairway to start with. Close to our home on Drury Lane, I try to start or end a walk in my neighborhood on this stairway. The folks in the neighborhood have done a very nice job on this with upkeep… and the wind chimes make it a very “Zen” experience using this stairway. It is a calming experience no matter the beginning or ending of a little journey. This light is quite nice as well in the later afternoon or early evening.

I do wish to say thanks to the neighbors of this stairway for caring and maintaining this stairway so nicely. It is on of the reason I do love living here in Silverlake.

View of my neighborhood from the top of the Stairway.

For me, another local neighborhood stairway. Mostly used by the dog-walkers, housekeepers and nannies of the area.

Overall, a fairly easy and pleasant stairway.

A hefty stairway going about 2-thirds the height of the hill.

Some good views near the top of the San Bernardino Mountains, make a good place to stop for a rest or two.

And you get to see a few homes and the neighbors who live along the stairway.

A lovely view of the Silverlake Reservoir at the top of this stairway.

And it is a rather small and easy to access stairway.

In 3 sections, this is a very easy to access stairway from Silverlake “proper”. But it is a surprisingly steep climb overall, but a pleasure all the same.

The entrance at the base is rather easy to miss.

At the top a cute little neighborhood area.

Amazing the funny little things you discover. I have driven by this spot on Griffith Park Boulevard on my way to Trader Joe’s or the Mayfair… just discovered this little local neighborhhood shortcut.

Not a real pretty stairway, but quite useful for the locals… at least those who walk. And hopefully with fuel prices, will be more of us on the street, walking.

At the top of this stairway, a surprisingly quaint and attractive neighborhood. A very pleasant surprise.

A cute little neighborhood stairway, and a good little short cut too.

While not the most attractive views… a good shortcut for locals. Actually an excellent utilitarian stairway.

But you should be able to get an ice cold popsy-suck on Sunset.